Faith operates at the junction of action and cognition, and possesses the attributes of both. We are not accustomed to thinking of faith as praxis, but the reality that most of our faith-work is implicit, habitual, and unrecognized as such does not in any way alter its functional character. It is, in fact, described as the supreme act in this tradition:
From Abi Hurairah, [who said] that the Messenger of AL-LAH (may GOD bless him and give him peace) was asked, “Which action is the best?” He replied, “Faith in AL-LAH and His Messenger.” , Sahihul-Bukhari, Book 2, Hadith 19)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم سُئِلَ أَىُّ الْعَمَلِ أَفْضَلُ فَقَالَ إِيمَانٌ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
In this case, of course, faith is conscious, deliberate, and directed towards the objects that are usually associated in the Qur’an with faith, namely GOD and His Messenger. But more general forms of trust and confidence are also made out to be acts, as in the following texts:
Az-Zuhri [a prominent scholar of hadith in the first century of Islam] said [commenting on this verse] – Say, “You do not have faith, but say, ‘We have submitted’”, – “We think that [the declaration of] submission is speech, while faith is action.” (Sunanu Abi Dawud, Book 42, Hadith 89)
وَقَال الزُّهْرِيّ { قُلْ لَمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا } قَالَ نَرَى أَنَّ الإِسْلاَمَ الْكَلِمَةُ وَالإِيمَانَ الْعَمَلُ
Abu Sa’id said, “I heard the Messenger of AL-LAH (may GOD bless him and give him peace) say, ‘Whoever sees an atrocity, then he should change it with his hand, and if he cannot, then by his tongue, and if he cannot, then in his heart. And that is the weakest form of faith.’” (Sunanun-Nasa’i, Book 47, Hadith 24)
قَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ”مَنْ رَأَى مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الإِيمَانِ”
Faith works at various levels of intensity, and their corresponding confirmatory actions, such as those of the hand, the tongue, and the heart, are its expressions. An avowal of truth that conforms to the secular definition of what faith should be and shrinks quietly away in the darkness of one’s personal life does not have the affirmative power of a faith that dares to speak out publicly or strive to right wrongs.
From Abi Hurairah, who said, “The Messenger of AL-LAH (may GOD bless him and give him peace) said, ‘The believers with the fullest faith are the loveliest in character, and the best of you are those who treat their womenfolk the best.’” (Jami’ut-Tirmidhi, Book 1, Hadith 278)
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ”أكمل المؤمنين إيمانا أحسنهم خُلقا، وخياركم خياركم لنسائهم”
Faith ‘spills over’ into associated types of behaviour. A commitment to GOD means adherence to all high ethical standards, not only specifically religious ones.
The GOD You Already Know 